O dear, I am so tired of Sunday,” said little Willie, a playful boy who was longing for Monday to come, that he might play with his toys.
“Who wants to hear a story?” said his Uncle James, who was sitting by reading.
“I do,” said Willie, and so said his brother and sisters, and they all gathered around their uncle.
“Our Saviour, when He was on earth, used parables, and so now I want to tell you a parable. It is about a kind man and his apple tree.
The apples were hanging on this tree quite ripe and looking very beautiful. A poor man, as he was passing along the road, stopped to look at this tree, and to admire the beautiful apples that hung on it. He counted the ripe golden pippins and found there were just seven of them. While he was looking at them, the owner came out. He was a kindhearted man, and loved to make people happy.
“My friend,” he said, “I’ll give you some of these apples.”
“Thank you, sir,” said the poor man. Six of the apples were put in his hands. The owner only left one for himself.
“Now don’t you think that poor man ought to have been very grateful for the kindness shown to him? Certainly he should. But he was not. He wanted to have the seven apples all to himself. And at last he made up his mind that he would go back and steal the other apple.”
“And did he do that?” asked Willie, indignantly. “The mean fellow! he ought to have been ashamed of himself. I hope he got well punished for stealing that apple.”
“How many days are there in the week, Willie?” asked his uncle.
“Seven,” said Willie, blushing deeply; for now he began to see the meaning of the parable, and it made him feel very uncomfortable. And well he might feel so, as also some of our readers. For when God has given us six days out of the seven in each week for our own purposes, and only keeps one for Himself, isn’t it mean and wicked in the highest degree for us to rob Him of that one day?
On the Lord’s day the Lord rose from the dead (John 20:1-91The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. (John 20:1‑9)).
May we devote that day to the Lord.
ML 10/24/1943